Da Subwayz Selectionz

This is my blog which features tracks from many artists and deejays of all genres and descriptions. There's everything from electro, hip hop, house, techno, drum n bass, IDM, hardcore techno, ambient, breaks, beats n rhymes, downtempo, electronic indie music and any other kinds of esoteric material that crosses my path!!

Boards of Canada

Thursday, 21 January 2016

Breakbeat Explorationz Vol. 3

Notes On Breakbeat Explorationz Vol.3

In this mix I got to incorporate a few more of my favourite tracks. I've always like the track Happy Cycling, by Boards of Canada. So I jumped at the chance to play this track, and quite by accident I discovered that the break from the tune Trouble Bucket by Cris Crucial fitted in quite well together with Happy Cycling.

I like how this mix starts out with funky breaks, then goes into a breakbeat techno direction then rinses and repeats back into breaks, bass with elements of trance, darkside drum n bass and old school hardcore breakbeat and techno. There are quite few stand out tracks in this mix. I quite liked the Flawless EP by Cris Crucial and there's four great tracks by UFO Project that features a few tracks in this mix.

A friend of mine (who loves his old school hardcore tracks) recently posted a couple of links for Perfect Love, by Rhythm Section and Far Out, by Sonz Of A Loop Da Loop Era. So this got me thinking about how and where to put these tracks in my mix. So whilst I was mixing these tunes I managed to include a couple of tracks by Aphex Twin. Polynomial-C is one of my all time favourite tunes, so it was really special to include this tune, plus Digeridoo, which is another one of those benchmark tunes that Richard D. James had released on various labels before it was featured on the seminal Belgian techno label R&S Records. I still want to do an old school mix, which is something what I plan to do sometime the course of this year. 1969, by Boards of Canada is one of my favourites from their album Geogaddi. My mix starts and finishes off with two short vignettes by Shed and Actress. The Killer and R.I.P are two great albums that I should play more often!

I was quite happy with the general flow of this mix, however I wasn't quite so satisfied with the quality of my mixing. I thought that this mix could have been tighter, and there were odd tunes where I thought that I could have been better. Considering that this mix is over three hours long and features over fifty eight tracks I didn't think it was too bad. Although I ended up doing about five different mixes until I felt satisfied that it was good enough to share online.

Hopefully, at some time throughout the course of this year I'll be able to do more mixes, and all going well, I can start doing more old school mixes like a drum n bass mix that I've been meaning to do for the last few years!

Tuesday, 19 January 2016

Breakbeat Explorationz Vol. 2

Notes on Breakbeat Explorationz Vol. 3

In this mix I got to include a few more personal favourite tunes of mine. At the very beginning of this mix is a short track by Roy Budd from the original soundtrack of the Mike Hodges 1971 film, Get Carter, that leads into another old school hip hop favourite, Strong Island by JVC Force, and Dub Be Good To Me by Beats International. At the end I got to include Second Scepe by Autechre and A Moment Of Clarity by Boards Of Canada.

I like the general flow of this mix. When I compile these tunes I try to incorporate different genres and blend them all together. It just so happened that I got a few tracks from Stanton Warriors, Punks imprint, (including a track by Stanton Warriors themselves) and a couple of fantastic EP's from Rory Hoy and Funky Presidents that had the opportunity to include.

I've been a fan of Fatima Yamaha, and I just think the track, What's A Girl To Do is just absolutely sensational. So I thought that I would let that tune roll, and play out the end of my mix.

Thanks for reading my blog, and checking out my mix. My latest mix: Breakbeat Explorationz Vol. 3 is available to listen to on Mixcloud right now, and I'll have a blog entry up and running on here within a short while!

Friday, 25 September 2015

I believe I first heard Shake it Off as bumper music on various TV programmes. So after many times of listening to this tune I discovered that it was Taylor Swift who in fact sang this song that had been rattling around my head and was implanted into my sub-conscience. Speaking as someone who has spent much of my time despising mainstream corporate music, and the way that the corporate types have exploited underground music and used it for their own purposes, and as much as I hate to admit this, I find Shake it Off, by Taylor Swift to be very catchy and completely infectious.

I'm always looking at ways to blend and match music, particularly of different genres and ideals. I've been a fan of Autechre and their work since the early 90's. Anti E.P. by Autechre was released on Warp Records in 1994. The philosophy behind this release was as a protest of the Conservative Government's Criminal Justice Bill, in which banned the use of a 'succession of repetitive beats' at 'gatherings where music is played.' So the three tracks of this E.P. were programmed with beats that were designed not to be repetitive.

Whilst mixing and generally playing around with tunes I just randomly happened to notice that Djarum and Shake It Off were about the same BPM's and that the two tracks seemingly matched up very well.

I think that Autechre fans will dislike the fact that one of their early tracks has been soiled with the lyrics from pop music's new flavour of the month. Where as your average Taylor Swift fan probably isn't going to have the slightest clue who Autechre are? Never mind the genre of music that they inspired and reinvented. I personally enjoy the fact that I've blended two entirely different pieces of music that have come together, and in my opinion it gives either track a new lease of life. Of course others might say that I've created Frankenstein's glitch monster....

Notes On Subwayz Techno Explorationz Vol. 1This mix is something that I have meant to do for quite a long time! The genesis of the structure of this mix lies in the track Übersprung by Vermont. I uploaded this track on to Youtube, and up until recently it has received over eleven thousand plays. This was a track that I specifically wanted to feature, so I went through my collection and picked some of my other favourite tracks that I thought might complement each other, and the opportunity availed itself to play quite a few favourites. A while ago I compiled a list of some of my favourite albums over the last couple of years, and in this mix there are more than a few of the album tracks that I shortlisted.

Back in 1992 I bought The True Techno EP (on Network Records) by Model 500. (from my local record shop at Worcester, Magpie Records) The track, The Passage has been an all time favourite of mine for many years. I was excited to find out that The Passage had been remastered in 2014. For me, it was the perfect choice to begin my mix. (after Kiani Industries by Boards of Canada) Between Two Selves by Octo Octo was an album that I have liked from the first time I listened to it. There are a variety of deep house tunes which pack quite a punch, and I wanted to highlight that quality in this mix. Workshop 19 by Kassem Mosse is another album that crept up on me. There is an intrinsic quality to this album that I really like. I could have put any track on this mix, but I'm happy that I put A2 on here, it's one of my favourite tunes from the album, so I'm pleased about that. I wanted to feature a track by Aphex Twin on this mix, predominantly from Selected Ambient Works 85 - 92. However, I found myself being pulled towards Surfing On Sine Waves by Richard D. James, under his Polygon Window alter ego. Portreath Harbour is one of those tracks which is minimalistic in nature, but has that Aphex Twin caustic edginess, and is counterpointed with soft ambient moments that I've always found alluring.

I have been a big fan of Daniel Avery's work. I thought Drone Logic was a great album. I wanted to feature a couple of tracks so Water Jump and Free Floating are two great tracks from many on that album that I could have put on my mix. I've been an admirer of Recondite's releases, I got Hinterland a while ago and have always wanted to use a track from that album. What I like about the track Riant, is that it's ambient in nature but still has a wonderful flow, and goes well with Ubersprung by Vermont. The Black Dog have an impressive back catalogue that features many of my favourite techno tunes. UV Sine is yet another track by The Black Dog. UV Sine has a great intro that is carried throughout the track. Shelter by Moire was another of my favourite albums of 2014. It was released on Darren Cunningham's (AKA Actress) Werk Discs label and is just a phenomenal album. No Gravity is a track with a bassline which permeates as it goes along. It was a great sequence of tunes along with Free Floating, by Daniel Avery and the ascending tweakings of Neketona by Nathan Fake. Trevino is a pseudonym of the multi-talented Marcus Intalex (which is another pseudonym, his real name is Marcus Kaye) I first heard the track Forged by Trevino on a Fabric (66) mix by Ben Klock, and also the track Detune, by Mary Velo on another Fabric mix (69) by Sandwell District. These two epic, growling, pulsating tunes have been favourites of mine since the first time I first listened to them. I also incorporated another two fantastic EP's, the reverberating Stellar Cult by Jasper Wolff & Maarten Mittendorff, and the pumping acid drone of Cestoda's Labyrinth by Green Gums

If there's one recording that has remained in my consciousness throughout this year, then it has to be City Girl, by TB on the German label Permanent Vacation. City Girl is a long, gently swirling acid tune that is as fresh sounding as it is beguiling. It's been another of my favourites of 2015, I think it's an understated work of genius. I've been a fan of electro since the 80's, and when I listen to Huh by Randomer it evokes memories of listening to track by artists like Paul Hardcastle and Man Parrish.

I discovered the album Much Less Normal by Lnrdcoy around Christmas 2014. It was released earlier on the seminal Canadian label 1080p, and initially available only on cassette, but was thankfully available later as a digital download. This year Much Less Normal was released on vinyl, via the Scottish label Firecracker Records. In my opinion, Much Less Normal is a fantastic album, if you like music of the ilk of artists like Boards of Canada, then check out Lnrdcroy. I could have put any track from Much Less Normal in my mix, but I used the track I Met You On BC Ferries, which is centred around a beautiful, quirky melody, that is used in a clever and inventive way throughout the track. I end my mix as I started it with a cameo from Boards of Canada.

I don't think I've had so much fun compiling a mix as much as I have with this. I was very happy with the end product, and I hope that you've had as much fun listening to my mix as I did producing it.

Saturday, 15 August 2015

Subwayz Breakbeat Explorationz Vol. 1

So in this mix I get to drop a few new breaks and bass tunes from labels like Tru Funk, Breakbeat Paradise Recordings, Punks Music, & Berceuse Heroique. Whilst taking the opportunity to include Meat Beat Manifesto, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Special Request remix of Go, by The Chemical Brothers, the Andrew Weatherall remix of Heretic, some acid breaks from DJ Rawcut, Turntable Actor Chloroform, Jay Riordan, and including some techno from Paul Woolford Denham Audio, Laurel Halo, Actress and drum n bass with Riya & P.A. and a couple of tracks from Boards Of Canada, naturally.The aim of this mix was to try to highlight all of the different inner genres that inhabit the breakbeat/techno/bass scene, and hopefully put them all together in a mix that everyone (who like this and other forms of this music) might enjoy! Hopefully I haven't put anyone off this music for life....

Once again I took the opportunity to add a few of my favourite artists/tracks and incorporate them in with some quality new tunes! The Message, by Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five is one of my all time favourite hip hop tunes. The version I have included is a bootleg, but it was awesome to mix it with the Boards of Canada remix of Prime Audio Soup by Meat Beat Manifesto. Chance Of Rain by Laurel Halo is one of my favourite tunes from 1993, so the chance the include this track in any mix was an opportunity I couldn't turn down!

There are some great new tunes which I have included, with EP's from artists like Jay Riordan, Denham Audio, Jimmy Le Mac, DJ Rawcut and UFO Project.

Next on my to-do list is to get working on another techno mix, and include some of the more ambient tunes that I like. Also on the list is a mix that includes Autechre, Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada.

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

Subwayz Drum n Bass Explorationz

I've been meaning to do a drum n bass mix for quite a while. So I finally collected a few tunes and put them together. There's quite a mixture of different types and sub-genres of drum n bass within this mix. I'm not sure if it was foolhardy of me to do so. What it gains in history it may lose in cohesiveness. Within this are two of my all time favourite tracks. I've been a fan of Doc Scott and Dillinja's output for quite a few years, they are two people for whom I have total respect for. Their discography is like charting the metamorphosis of the hardcore scene into the drum n bass scene today. Shadow Boxing and Silver Blade are two massive tracks which were awesome to incorporate in this mix. I don't want to take anything away from the other tracks which are in this mix. I've liked the releases on Doc Scott's 31 Records imprint, not to mention Metalheadz and Renegade Hardware, which sadly is now defunct. I also took the liberty of sneaking in tracks by Aphex Twin (from one of my favourite albums of all time, Selected Ambient Works 85-92) and Boards of Canada (from the 2002 album, Geogaddi)

I still have plans to do mixes of other genres, including ambient, downtempo, tech-house, many other breakbeats, old school drum n bass, hardcore techno/gabber and specifically Boards of Canada, Autechre,Aphex Twin and old school drum n bass. It's just finding the time to do all this!

Anyways, thanks for listening to my mix. I hope you enjoy these tunes as much as I did!

Thursday, 2 July 2015

Subwayz Don't Stop Da Breakbeatz.....

This was another fantastic opportunity for me to slot in a few more of my favourite tunes into this mix! Firstly, I've been a fan of Actress, aka Darren Cunningham's work for quite a while, so it was awesome to start with the track Don't, from the 2014 album Ghettoville. Luke Vibert is one of those chameleon-esque characters within the world of dance music who has made many tracks under many different guises. Buffalo Gals by Malcolm McLaren And The World's Famous Supreme Team is a timeless hip hop classic and putting this tune in my mix was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. The album Much Less Normal by Lnrdcroy is an absolutely amazing body of work that has stayed under the radar for quite a while. I seized the opportunity to feature the track, Slam City Jam (Mix Assist Mix). Rivers Of The Red Planet, Code and The Air Between Words were some of my favourite albums of 2014. So it was awesome to incorporate Drums Of Death by Max Graef, Zenith by Answer Code Request and The Love Of Pleasure by Martyn (featuring the awesome Inga Copeland)

I'm a lifelong fan of electro, and within this genre includes some classic tracks by artists like Shannon, Joyce Sims The S.O.S. Band and by innovators like The Latin Rascals. Recently there's been one such EP that was released recently by The Galleria, (Morgan Geist) which features vocals by an amazing singer-songwriter (in her own right) Jessy Lanza. It was awesome to feature two tracks (Calling Card and Mezzanine) and also to mix in Party Girl by TB (available on the record label Permanent Vacation) which is just an outstanding track and one of my favourites of 2015.

London Grammar are an amazing band, and their album If You Wait, is one of my favourites. I've always wanted to remix one their tracks, in particular Metal & Dust. In this mix I had the opportunity to incorporate the track, Metal & Dust with another of my breaks tunes by ZPH, called Breaks Of Mediate. This may not be the remix that I've dreamed of, however I firmly believe that I have enhanced both these tunes and given them energy and gravitas. It's something that I've been very proud of.

In between and around all these tunes that I have coveted are some outstanding tunes by some of the finest contemporary constructors of breaks and many other beats like Ewan Hoozami, El Bomba, Dave Gerrard, DMX Krew, Last Magpie and finishing with another all-time favourite of mine, Left Side Drive by Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin, aka... Boards of Canada.

About Me

I started out in the 80's liking electronic music like Heaven 17, Japan, Human League,Cabaret Voltaire, Kraftwerk. I also like old school hip hop & electro like Man Parrish and Mantronix. I also like Boards of Canada, Autechre, The Black Dog, Aphex Twin and many other different artists and styles of music.